TSMC, SK Hynix, Samsung: Asian Chip Stocks Rise Even As Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s Controversy Tests Investor Confidence

Taiwan’s Kospi recovered Monday after a brutal selloff last week.

• TSMC stock ended 4.7% higher on Monday – the chipmaker will post October sales numbers on Tuesday.
• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admitted to having an affair with a person U.S. authorities suspect to be a Chinese spy and the company has launched an investigation.
• Retail sentiment was ‘neutral’ for TSM and ‘bearish’ for SKHY.

Asian chip stocks rose on Monday, alongside modest overnight gains in some U.S. semiconductor shares, marking a recovery after a selloff last week over fears that a Democrat-led Congress would slow the buildout of AI data centers.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing shares in Taiwan ended 4.7% higher on Monday. Shares of Samsung and SK Hynix in Seoul gave up their gains from earlier in the day but still ended up 0.6% and 0.4% higher. To be sure, SK Hynix’s U.S. stock SKHY, and TSM were down 3.5% and 0.3% respectively in overnight trading.

Among the key triggers on Monday was the controversy engulfing Nvidia. Over the weekend, CEO Jensen Huang admitted to having an affair with a person U.S. authorities suspect to be a Chinese spy. 

Nvidia said it launched an investigation into the issues, even as analysts debated the potential fallout. NVDA stock plunged 5.7% in overnight trading ahead of Monday.

Some analysts believe that the incident could have far reaching consequences, including a near-term overhang on NVDA stock and Huang ultimately losing his CEO title.

South Korean chip stocks were hit by the global sell-off in AI and semiconductor shares last week. 

Investors worried that a new U.S. Congress could impose tighter rules on AI data-center construction, potentially slowing the buildout and weakening future demand for the memory chips that Samsung and SK Hynix supply. 

The selling then fed on itself: overseas investors pulled money from the market, and Samsung and SK Hynix – two of the KOSPI’s biggest stocks – took the brunt. By the week’s close on Nov. 6, the KOSPI had fallen about 11.7%.

Upcoming Catalysts

Investors are expected to closely track updates around the Nvidia controversy, including a potential congressional investigation. Meanwhile, TSMC’s monthly sales update, due on Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. Taipei time, will also be in focus.

TSMC reported record third-quarter profit that beat estimates and projected a 58% jump in current quarter sales.

Retail View On TSM, SKHY

On Stocktwits, the retail sentiment was ‘neutral’ for TSM and ‘bearish’ for SKHY.

“$SKHY I think they’ve pounded this about as low as it can possibly go,” said a trader. On the TSM’s stream, one wrote: “$TSM Monthly sales report tomorrow should move this North.

TSM stock is up more than 24% year to date. SKHY is down by the same degree from the listing price at its Nasdaq debut in July.

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